Transhumance: Trails of Survival
France’s desalpe, Austria’s almabtrieb, and Germany’s viehscheid overflow with richness. They’re all knockout celebrations with mirrored crowns, wildflowers, clarinets, and beer halls thronged with diners and singers. This fall we saw a less flamboyant but by means no less impressive seasonal livestock drive in Western
When the Cows Come Home
A human-bovine-floral custom of the Alps decorates the herds for their descent from high pastures and celebrates the herders who work with them.
From our vantage point in the land of parched, flat and “virtual,” heaven looks like this:
It’s the event of the season
Birches at Pentecost
Pagan, imperial, atheist, orthodox, a green spirit muscles through Russian history.
In the Protestant denomination of our raising, Pentecost meant an outpouring of red Sunday outfits and searing reference to the apostles’ “tongues of fire.” In the Eastern Orthodox faith, Pentecost – better known as
Lady’s Bedstraw: Midsummer in Romania
The celebration of Sanzeine, like other midsummer festivities in Eastern Europe, puts the focus where it should be—on beautiful young women and flowers.
Calling all Romanian virgins!
Actually, we’re a mite bit tardy. Sorry. The Sanzeine celebration was a few nights ago. This old pagan
Persephone’s Flower
Mysterious flames, pomegranate blooms signal the end of spring and, in our part of the world, an oncoming season in hell.
The myth of Persephone gets whitewashed for children. We were taught that a lovely maiden out gathering flowers one day suddenly was swallowed down
Predicting Sakura
Two Japanese weather services vie to specify when the cherry blossoms will open.
The Japanese sense of natural beauty (as Masashi Yamaguchi recently discussed right here) is keen and refined. Its most famous manifestation comes each spring with Hanami, the viewing of cherry blossoms across
Raise The Majstang
At the feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, up goes the Swedish “maypole,” a high sign to both Christians and pagans.
After many months of darkness Midsummer is a pile-on holiday in Scandinavia. In light-deprived lands like Sweden, Finland, and Norway , it’s
